The Wolves of Fairmount Park [NOOK Book]

Overview

In The Wolves of Fairmount Park, Dennis Tafoya?s lyrical, intense, sometimes tragic and sometimes hopeful second novel, the details of a drive-by shooting of two teenagers in a rough Philadelphia neighborhood are filled in from four perspectives: Brendan Donovan, a cop and the father of the boy shot and left comatose; George Parkman Sr., another father, this one of the boy who was killed; Danny Martinez, a cop whose job it is to investigate ...

More About
This Book

Overview

In The Wolves of Fairmount Park, Dennis Tafoya’s lyrical, intense, sometimes tragic and sometimes hopeful second novel, the details of a drive-by shooting of two teenagers in a rough Philadelphia neighborhood are filled in from four perspectives: Brendan Donovan, a cop and the father of the boy shot and left comatose; George Parkman Sr., another father, this one of the boy who was killed; Danny Martinez, a cop whose job it is to investigate the killing; and Orlando Donovan, the junkie uncle of the cop’s kid, who happens to live nearby.

No one knows what the two boys were doing in front of a dope house on Roxborough Avenue in the middle of the night, what business they might have had with gangs like Green Lane or the Tres Nortes. Even though they had a thousand dollars with them, they were good boys. Everyone says, “They were good boys.”

Through the fast-paced interweaving of these four distinct voices, Dennis Tafoya, author of the acclaimed Dope Thief, tells the moving story of two kids in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the lengths that the people around them will go to find the truth.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Dennis Lehane fans will welcome Tafoya's second crime novel, which delivers on the promise of his debut, Dope Thief. A drive-by shooting in front of a Philadelphia dope house claims two victims, Michael Donovan and George Parkman Jr., and leads to an intense search for the gunman. Both fathers--Brendan Donovan, a cop whose son was wounded, and George Parkman Sr., whose son died--can't help wondering if the incident was somehow connected with Brendan's younger half-brother, Orlando, a ne'er-do-well drug addict. Tafoya skillfully shifts among the perspectives of the two grieving fathers, Orlando, and Danny Martinez, the primary investigator on the case. The bleak worldview Brendan articulates ("Nobody knew anybody. Nobody knew the first goddamn thing about their wives or their husbands or their kids or their friends") will resonate with classic noir readers, who will hope Tafoya is their guide through the mean streets for years to come. (July)

From the Publisher

Advance Praise for The Wolves of Fairmount Park

“Dennis Tafoya returns with The Wolves of Fairmount Park, a dark and lyrical novel filled with passion, heartbreak, gorgeous imagery, and devious twists. Brilliant and beautiful.”

“While it bears all the hallmarks of a crime novel, it is also something more, a finely nuanced character study of a criminal trying to get out of the downward spiral of his crimes. . . . Tafoya’s prose alternates between a staccato, hard-boiled cadence and a beautiful, near-florid style. . . . Over Dope Thief’s final ninety pages, Tafoya’s coda elevates his book to the extraordinary.”

—-Las Vegas Weekly

“A classic story . . . First-time novelist Dennis Tafoya has a nice sense of how and where his characters live, revealing in stark detail the hardscrabble life of the petty thief.”

—-Chicago Tribune

“Raw and redemptive . . . A boy ‘born into the life’ makes a wrenching attempt to change course or die trying in a first novel that marks Tafoya as a writer to watch.”

—-Publishers Weekly

“Tafoya’s book starts at a sprint and hits its marks.”

—-Philadelphia City Paper

“A fine first novel . . . Tafoya is off to a promising start. . . . The plotting is solid, and the action has a hard, violent edge that recalls Richard Price.”

—-Booklist

Library Journal

In a rough Philadelphia neighborhood, two white boys are the victims of a drive-by shooting; one dies, and the son of a police officer is critically wounded. Drug dealers are jockeying for territory, and city leaders are caught between the need to impose law and order and the usual political machinations that run rampant in big cities. VERDICT In Tafoya's second novel after the acclaimed Dope Thief, everyone here has more than enough to contend with, and the pall that has settled over the city is oppressive. Well written but bleak.

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.

Hunting grounds.

Merry Go-Round

In cities all over the world, the buying, selling, and using of drugs takes many lives. There is violence, guns, sex, cops, and a continual churning of the same. The Wolves of Fairmount Park takes us into this world,in one neighborhood in Philadelphia that is probably not much different than any other drug neighborhood. We get close to junkies and killers, and pretty much feel repulsed, but continue reading as Dennis Tafoya does not let up on the gritty details of this life. The cops themselves are victimized by a world they cannot control. One arrested and jailed is replaced by another, and the carousel continues on. With the billions spent on the "war on drugs" it is clear that it is an unwinnable battle. Somewhere, somehow, a different approach has to be taken. Drugs lead to violence- ask any Mexican trying to live safely in the midst of a battle to feed the American appetite for cocaine. This book does not necessarily break any new ground, but reminds us that we can't stand idle.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

This is a gloom and doom deep look at the aftermath of a tragic event

In Philadelphia, a drive-by shooting at a dope house leads two teens rushed to an emergency room; one dies while the other is critically injured. The fathers of the victims are psychologically wounded too. Police Officer Brendan Donovan whose son Michael was severely wounded and local entrepreneur George Parkman Sr. whose son Jr. died in the incident wonder why.

Both dads believe that Brendan's half-brother, Michael's Uncle Orlando a drug addict was the cause of the attack. PPD detectives Danny Martinez and Asa Carmody investigate the shooting that seems increasingly to affirm the theory of the fathers that Orlando was the motive for the deadly drive-by.

This is a gloom and doom deep look at the aftermath of a tragic event as seen mostly through the rotating viewpoints amongst the four males not physically hurt by the incident; though other perspectives by family members, girlfriends and the female detective enhance the dark urban Noir. The fathers are the most fascinating as the cop prays for God to save his beloved son while the tycoon who ignored his offspring when he was alive insists on vengeance. Fans who appreciate a realistic walk on the wild side of the streets will want to read The Wolves of Fairmount Park.

Harriet Klausner

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.